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The influence of the United States Senate on NATO's central partnership: A study of domestic-international interaction on the military relationship between the United States and the Federal Republic of Germany between 1979 and 1989

Posted on:1994-12-09Degree:Ph.DType:Thesis
University:Georgetown UniversityCandidate:Stephan, Henry JohanFull Text:PDF
GTID:2476390014492567Subject:History
Abstract/Summary:
The central question of this dissertation is to demonstrate how, and under what circumstances, the US Senate influenced the military relationship between the United States and West Germany between 1979 and 1989.; At the theoretical level, one may argue that the dominant realist paradigm in IR theory does not account for the role the Senate plays in the military relationship between NATO's central partners as this paradigm implicitly argues that US foreign policy is the product of the executive branch of the US Government behaving as a unitary, rational actor.; Accordingly, the dissertation sets up as the null hypothesis the realist presumption that the Senate, as a domestic actor, will have no effect on the relationship between the United States and the FRG. The alternative hypothesis posits that the Senate does have an impact by shifting policy outcomes toward its own preferences. In this regard, the dissertation tests for the influence of the Senate on three issues--force levels and burden-sharing, INF deployment and negotiation, and NATO military strategy and procurement.; Through a series of case studies, the dissertation concludes that the US Senate did in fact initiate policies that had a direct bearing on the international relationships of the United States, in addition to the usual pulling and hauling that has traditionally taken place over such issues as treaty ratification. Moreover, the Senate also acted in some instances in a cooperative manner, but still influenced the international relationships of the United States. As such, the dissertation identifies three broad foreign policy areas where the Senate has either been assertive and deadly efficient, reactive yet adversarial, or cooperative and persuasive.; What is readily apparent from the case studies is that the United States does not act as a unitary, rational actor, and contrary to explanations that are enunciated by the realist school, system-level factors are not the only motivating factors that explain US foreign policy.
Keywords/Search Tags:Relationship between the united states, Senate, Military, Central, Foreign policy, Dissertation
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